Quick Blog break....

I have been hard at it and hardly had a chance to look at anything much online lately... I'm missing my fix!  So just a quick update for those of you who still bother to check up on me and see what I'm up to.... don't blame you if you skulked off and in disgust as the posts have been nothing but Crap lately!!!


So... first things first... I am totally focused and involved with all things career oriented right now which explains my absence from the blogging world. This is a new thing for me as I like to strike a good balance as a rule, but my current undertaking demands discipline and commitment... I know, two things I really don't have a ton of but I'm working on it!! It so damn hard though, I'm going to succeed and when I do I can then breathe a sigh of relief, until that time I'm all tense and focused and scary.

The photography stuff has really taken a back seat, going for well over a week sometimes between picking up my camera even for just a quicky... sigh.  I need a refresher course I think...   I did take a quick pic today of my lunch... it's thrilling around here people... I made a chicken avocado salad that I found on Pinterest and OMG is the most fabulous thing ever to have crossed my lips... DELISH!!! Seriously.. praise be to the person who first discovered the delight that is cilantro. I could eat it in, on and around everything. I bet it would even be good in a bowl of oatmeal. YUM!!!

Just grab some cooked chicken, an avocado, couple o' green onions, cilantro, mayo and lime juice. I didn't have the measurements either... wing it.. you can't go wrong. Mix it all up and serve with crackers or whatever you like with your salad... It would be marvelous with a crisp, cold, white wine but it's a little early for that today.. have to pick up the kids and don't want to start an international incident in the line up! Go check out the blog I found this on HERE.

Here's another little thing I did with an idea from Pinterest.... I didn't Pin it correctly and so now I'm not able to give credit to the lovely lady who provided me with the idea... sorry!!!

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So cute, quick and very easy!!!! of course I only do the easy stuff!!!!

Anyway, just a quick one.. still a million things I have to do around here today, no time to be wittering away on Blogger. I promised myself a little break before I get back to it.... urgh.... I am not really sure how long I can keep up with this pace but lets hope it's long enough to accomplish my goals!  I'll be back to bore you all to death again soon... until then au revoir!!!

Kids say the darndest things....

So.. last night us gals were sitting at the kitchen table, I was merrily pinning away on Pinterest while Syd was busy doing three hours of social studies homework (which wasn't even required)(urgh!!) and Ash proudly announced she was about to draw a .... banana hammock. I know!!!!!

After a burst of hysterical laughter (banana hammocks always crack me up) I couldn't get her to tell me where she'd even heard of such a thing and of course she didn't know what a banana hammock is! What do you do in this predicament... dial the grandmother of course and give her the pleasure of explaining such a thing to this 7 yr old clown!  Once she knew what it was she was in fits of giggles and that was the end of that.. she did scribble a little something on the paper but it didn't in any way resemble David Beckham in his BH. Bwaahaha.

Then this morning I was sporting a particularly old but fugly functional Ralph Lauren sweatshirt... it was cold alright... and Syd looked at it with a face akin to a bulldog chewing a wasp and said "Thaaat's Ralph Lauren??? I thought RL was supposed to be.. you know... like.... um..... yeah".
Me... "yeah, it's RL and I'll have you know I bought this in Texas before you were born". .... Syd...."Wow and it still fits???"  

Seriously... I just had that conversation with my kid... it happened.  I am no longer the mother of little kids... I'm in the "I have to justify my clothes selection to a tweener" stage. Oh Lord... I should probably rethink the Forever Lazy I have on my Christmas wish list.

Here she is helping this chick through an awkward feather decision. 

Happy Birthday....

A lot has happened since you left us... it's been almost four years.  Ashamed to say I can't even remember now if you would have been sixty or sixty one this birthday! It's been bothering me and I want to call and ask your widow but I won't, I just don't want to admit that it's not right there at the front of my mind.

The girls are growing up nicely, I think you would be proud of them.  We talk of you often and although Ashley has faint memories now there's lots for her to use as memory joggers, we keep the airplane that we gave you that final Christmas front and center. The books with the little messages you wrote in the front cover are a lovely reminder of your love of reading and how you wanted so badly to share that love with them.  Sydney still has the First Day cover of the Rudyard Kipling stamps in her room on her notice board, the copy of Just So Stories in her bookcase. Little reminders that are kept just so we can look at them when we need to and remember the kindhearted man who was Grandpa, beloved and missed. 

We all have our own versions of that horrible day when you were so quickly ripped from our lives, but one thing is for sure, we all know just what it was we lost and however it plays out to each of us, the result is the same, a loss, a terrible gaping hole never to be filled. Sometimes when we're having a bad day one of us might say "this is the worst day of my life" and then we are quickly reminded that no, it's not, not by a long shot. That's what we tell each other and guess what... it keeps it all in perspective. 

Your voice still sounds so clear in my head, your memory still so alive. I have no idea why this year is so hard for me to get through, I just assumed time would heal all pain but it really doesn't. It just dulls the ache for a little while until it breaks through again and takes me hostage one more time. While all around me people are being thankful and looking forward to Christmas I can only think of your birthday, another one you're missing, and another Christmas reminding me of your very last couple of weeks. Thank God you spent those last weeks with us, selfish of me I know but thank God!! We found the video that we took that last Christmas morning, and watched it with tear filled eyes and heavy hearts. I know deep down you don't want us to mourn; but to celebrate the times we had.  We try, we really do. 

The tree we planted for you is growing, how, I have no idea! and the potted plant I received from a friend is still alive and well.  We feel like we have you here watching over us and so in an odd kind of way it's fortunate for us, sad for those missing you in England though. Sad for Mum, missing you so much every day, God only knows how she goes on without you, I am sure she's praying for when she will be with you again. I pray for that too sometimes and imagine you guys back together and happy for eternity, maybe that would give me peace. Knowing the unit is whole again.

Well... dear sweet man... Happy Birthday! We will remember you and love you always. 

Third time's a charm...

I have prepared a couple of blog posts this past few days but can't seem to get them right.... I think I'm up against too much lately to organize my thoughts and share them.  The first was about our Thanksgiving... but honestly it was a good day 'n all but nothing spectacular to write home about. No offense to the family, its just that every other blog says things like good company, good food, lots to be thankful for... I'm sick to death of hearing it this year...but that is totally my problem not yours. My attitude sucks right now.

You want to know what makes me truly thankful? That we even have a roof over our heads.  There's a TV news program on Sunday nights here in the States called 60 minutes and last night they did a story on homeless kids in Florida; I was trying to blog but it caught my attention and gave me a lump in my throat the size of a 20lb turkey. These families were living in trucks and cars because they had lost their homes due to the never freakin' ending recession. Their unemployment had run out, they had been made homeless and rather than lose the kids they packed up and slept in their cars and remained for all intents and purposes "normal" during the day. It's heartbreaking that this is happening.... absolutely heartbreaking.  So ... I am thankful that we do have a roof over our heads, and we  may not be able to keep up with the Jones' but we're not in a truck worrying about the safety of our kids at night.  I cannot fathom the despair that the parents feel when there is just no apparent way out of a situation like that..... and Kim Kardashian fakes a marriage for millions... PULEASE!!!!

You can check out the piece HERE.

Anyway.... don't mean to be a dolly downer... just can't seem to help but feel so helpless and sad at the way this country is headed right now. Yet on and on we see sparkly glittery things we just can't live without!!!! Put down those iPhones people... Apple doesn't need  your money... the homeless in Florida do. Imagine how it would help them if you kept your old phone which is actually perfectly functional, and spent that $200-$400 on some carpentry work on your house, or a little landscaping maybe, and the guy doing the work could feed his kids for a few days.  Just a pie in the sky notion and I know it's not going to happen but in the meantime I can dream. That is all.

Wait .... Thanksgiving is WHEN????

OK... so the other day I looked out from under my rock and the trees were turning from all green and lush to all red and orange and not quite so lush. Hmmm must be fall or something... or wait.. it's mid November already... STOP THE BUS ITS almost THANKSGIVING!!!!

Seriously the whole perception of time thingy when you get older and have more going on so the days wiz by at stupid miles per hour is driving me nuts. I can't get a handle on being prepared and organized when things are happening so quickly.. I'm shocked by every passing season and totally worn out by running around getting crap done at the last minute. Yet there also seems to be those days which are never ending!

Thanksgiving is ONE day... that's it... not a week not even a long weekend it's a DAY and yet it seems to be such a big day. That sounds like a really weird thing to say because it is the biggest holiday of the year in this country but it is still merely one day. Lets just have a nice dinner, all sit around and be thankful and move on. Why oh why do we have to stress about it.... I know why I stress about it... not because I have to cook or anything like that because we're extremely lucky and go visit family every year. I stress because it's my wake up call to silly season... my alarm to the unending demands on time and energy in every imaginable form....parades (yes the Christmas Parade is usually the Monday after Thanksgiving.. seriously!!) parties, pj days at school, Victorian Christmas, Fun Runs, kids out of school, mailing gifts overseas (which is invariably done late) decking the halls and devouring Egg Nog. I still  can't get my head around the American way of celebrating the holidays... totally backwards to me.  It starts at Thanksgiving and ends at Christmas. Whereas in England we didn't really start until right before Christmas and ended at New Years. No wonder I'm all discombobulated. Sigh!!!  I miss that cold brisk walk to the pub, the lengthy dinners with co-workers, the dressing up in fancy evening wear with fabulous fancy shoes... Sigh again!!!!

So ... here it begins... and not to be a total party pooper but for me personally.. I say roll on the New Year!

She called it.....

Today I am taking care of my sweet, little, sickie Ash, for the third straight day. I was completely convinced yesterday that she was fine and would be on her merry way to school this morning and I would be left to concentrate on work again. Not so. The past couple of days she had been waking us up by throwing up first thing, she'd rinse and repeat a few times and then she was fine for the rest of the day. I put her back on her Prevacid thinking that we're back on the reflux roundabout and assured myself this was the end of it.

Well last night she started to get a little upset around eight o'clock and told me she was scared because she knew she was going to be sick again and that she would be missing more school (she absolutely cannot stand to miss school).  I told her it would be OK and that now she's back on the medicine she would be just fine and not to worry. We cuddled for a while and I settled her into bed, she asked for her puke bowl just in case so I fetched it and left it with her and went off to bed myself... I was exhausted from two days of her early morning puke alarms. I was having some kind of fabulous dream, which annoyingly I can't remember now, when I heard a child calling Mama, Mama... what???? It confused me because obviously if it was a fabulous dream there were no kids and therefore no room in the dream for Mama Mama. I stumbled out of bed and sure enough she had a full bowl for me to clean up (she's a very neat puker) and it was game on for the rest of the night. URGH!!!!

So she's sleeping soundly now but please for the love of God this has to be the worst of it and we can move on. I'm lucky enough to be working from home so I am able to continue with what I need to do to stay on track but hells bells I had foolishly envisioned a whole new life... one where I could focus on me and my career. I guess this is my signal that I'm still first and foremost a Mom and no matter what happens my kids will always come first. I'm not going to be some kind of martyr mom though, me myself and I come a damn close second to the motherly stuff. Today will be split between work, puke, lysol and the laundry room with more work on top... and that my friend is how we keep the plates spinning.

I've had this blog for two and a half years and there are a gazillion posts about Peanut being sick... it's just a given I guess and if you plan for it and accept it's gonna happen then you can handle it way better than letting it get you down. I just hate to see her little face all pale and sicky... I hope this is the last of it and she's back to her old self soon.

Gonna be a long month....

So.... looks like we're having a long November this year!!!! Please God let it be so because I can't even begin to think about Christmas there's so much we're trying to accomplish at the end of 2011 I just don't know if I can really do the Holidays justice. Do you think the kids will notice if we just kinda slide by the Yule Tide??

Funnies from my bunnies this week.... yesterday Syd was so indignant about physical activity it cracked me up. She was telling me that she had been moving ALL day and she was exhausted... really??? She's ten years old and can't stay in motion for a morning (it was only about noon). She looked at me with a serious expression "But Mom... Daddy made me RUN and it's the WEEKEND!!!". Bwwaahahahaha I can see an enrollment into a weekend bootcamp in this girls future... where did she get the idea that the weekend is a non activity sit on your ass time, wait.. I'm on the couch with Pinterest and Daddy's in the chair snoozing... sigh... got to change this and soon!!

Ash.. well she's always on the move, no worries there!! She even gets a towel out and lays it on the floor and does her "pilates" in the morning. Ash has been thinking hard about getting a new Uncle lately, I'm not going to go into it because it's not my story but it's enough to say we're on a manhunt and it's intense people. She's also been writing songs... yes ... I know!! I was amazed. She sang one to me last night at bedtime when I went to tuck her in and it was pretty good!! It really made me smile, more than smile I was just so blown away by it, it was just a little song and was funny but anyone who can write even a little song has my complete respect, she was a little embarrassed I could tell but all the same she was happy to sing to me and I was tickled by it.

Anyway peeps... I must get off this damn computer. I have been on Pinterest this morning and you know what?? I want to see some of that crap come to fruition... get off the screen and into my hands. So today is going to be a creative kind of a day...See Ya!!!